1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and associated apparatus for lifting, stabilizing and supporting a pre-existing building structure, and more particularly, a method for using a series of brackets to attach a building structure to piers drilled vertically into the ground proximate the building structure, and lifting the brackets substantially concurrently to raise the building structure relative to the piers.
2. Description of the Related Art
Methods for lifting pre-existing building structures upon piers driven into the ground around a portion of the structure typically utilize hydraulic rams that drive steel pier pipes into the ground until either sufficient ground resistance is achieved or the lower end of the pier strikes a suitable load-bearing rock stratum. Because hydraulic rams require relatively little horizontal space, a ram assembly may be positioned relatively close to a structure. Piers may thereby be installed in relative close proximity to the structure foundation, which is preferred in most cases. Helical and threaded piers are drilled into the ground using a drill rig assembly, rather than via hydraulic ram, and may offer advantages in certain substrates. Because of the dimensions of a typical drill rig assembly, however, which typically includes a base, stand and drill head, a vertically drilled pier cannot typically be installed as close horizontally to a building structure as a hydraulically driven vertical pier. Typical solutions in the prior art for installing drilled piers closer to a structure include notching the structure footing or drilling the pier into the ground as an angle so that the lower portion of the pier may lie in closer proximity to the footing. Each such solution presents disadvantages in that the first may compromise the structural integrity of the footing, as well as increase installation labor, and the second solution yields a pier unable to bear the same load as a vertically oriented pier.
What is needed is a method and apparatus that allows use of drilled piers in close proximity to a building structure so that piers may be drilled a substantial distance into a rock stratum while maintaining a substantially vertical disposition.